Crevier narrowly misses win at first ever Canadian XR1200 cup race. Steve Crevier took his MotoSport Plus sponsored XR1200X to a hard fought second place at ICAR this past Sunday. While the weather was cold and wet for most of the weekend, it cleared in time for Saturday afternoon qualifying, allowing Steve some much needed seat time on the XR1200X. The big XR is decidedly different in nature to most of the racing motorcycles he’s ridden in his long career, but part of Crevier’s strength as a rider is his adaptability and ability to pinpoint setup issues. By adjusting both the bike and his riding style, he improved his lap times dramatically to qualify 3rd. After a consultation with tuner Pete Snell, further adjustments to the K-Tech Suspension, were made Saturday evening for the final race. Once again, shortly before the start of the race, the rain stopped and the weather began to clear. The CSBK staff gave all XR riders a period of time to make the swap to the DOT tires that are used on a dry track, and after some frantic work by the crews and the Pirelli staff, the track was dry, and the bikes were ready. Rising young star Cody Matechuk got the holeshot, with Crevier and Darren James in very close pursuit. Steve worked his way around Matechuk and led for a number of laps. But lapped traffic began to take its toll on the leaders giving Matechuk an advantage when he needed it, and dropping James back slightly from the fight for first. At the line, Matechuk had the advantage by less than 2 tenths of a second. Crevier’s team-mate Dan Thomson suffered a jump start penalty and ended up 11th overall, and is looking forward to getting some more time on the XR. MotoSport Plus is a Diamond award winning Harley Davidson dealer in Kingston, Ontario. Drop in and see them, they’ll be happy to help you! More, from a press release issued by Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada: KICK-OFF OF THE NATIONAL HARLEY-DAVIDSON® XR1200® CUP EVENT IN CANADA The 2011 Canadian Superbike Championship Season Opens in Quebec Mirabel, Quebec (May 31, 2011) Circuit ICAR, Quebec Horrible conditions and constant showers could not dampen the spirits and enthusiasm of the Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada XR1200® contingent at its inaugural performance in the Canadian Superbike round one weekend of the 2011 season. Canada’s Snowbirds did a fly-by, seeming to tear a hole in the unrelenting grey blanket that hovered overhead of Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Quebec. Skies began to clear and the difficult course dried long enough for the Harley-Davidson® XR1200® motorcycles to make their appearance on the track for qualifying. Thirteen riders rolled out onto the track for the first laps of the very popular XR1200® spec class and, as excited fans jostled for position behind the barriers, riders got their first chance to ride the bikes in the heat of battle. Handlebar-to-handlebar action became common and, almost immediately, the gauntlet was thrown as 17-year-old Cody Matechuk, racing for Privateers Harley-Davidson®, diced it out with Ruthless Racing Inc. rider, Darren James, and MotoSports Plus rider, Steve Crevier. By the end of the 20-minute session, Matechuk posted the fastest qualifying time of 1:30.433, earning him the Tactical Products Luminox watch for winning the pole position. James closely followed suit in second and Crevier boasted the third fastest time. Sunday’s main event proved to be one of the most exciting races of the weekend, with the sun making a guest appearance. Matechuk got a brilliant start from the pole and shot out to the lead, dragging Crevier and James behind him. Behind the lead trio, a clump of riders battled for position with Samuel Proulx, riding for Sherbrooke Harley-Davidson®, leading the charge ahead of Vision Harley-Davidson® rider, Chris Harmon, and Trev Deeley Motorcycles-sponsored Olivier Spillborghs in pursuit. Ruthless Racing Inc. rider, J.R. MacRae, had his fill of Costa Mouzouris riding the #22 Harley-Davidson® media bike. Another youngster, Lee Kuhn Jr., riding for Jacox Harley-Davidson®, diced it out with Elie Daccache. Back up front, Matechuk and Crevier slugged it out in every corner while James ran a close third just biding his time to strike. As the 14-lap race wore down, traffic became an issue and James lost several positions. This was all Matechuk needed as he crossed the line with just a wheel length to spare ahead of Crevier, leaving Darren James to settle for a third place finish. Crevier said after the race, “I just can’t believe I got beat by a kid, but it was a lot of fun.” An elated Matechuk commented after, “It was great race. Steve got up there and he kept showing me a wheel.” Matechuk capped of his weekend by also walking away with the Performance Undergear “Performance of the Race” Award. More, from a press release issued by Ridersdiscount.com: Sam Gaige Takes Podiums at the CCS/ASRA Summit Point CycleFest Summit Point, West Virginia Team RidersDiscount.com #20 Sam Gaige returned to Summit Point Raceway for the second time in 2011. Hungry for more wins, the Rochester, NY native was looking forward to another great weekend at the CCS/ASRA Summit Point CycleFest. Unseasonably hot weather added to the already challenging event for Gaige, who had to start from the back of the grid in two of three events since starting order was based on when registration was received. Still, Sam managed rode his Markbilt-prepared, Dunlop-shod Yamaha YZF-R6 to a podium finish in each sprint, taking third in Expert GTU and second in Expert Middleweight SuperSport. The big event for Sam was the Michelin Pro SportBike race, for which, he qualified on pole whilst setting the fastest 600cc lap of the weekend. The race started off with Gaige taking a commanding lead right from the green flag. A problem started shortly after leaving theline when the steering damper mount on his YZF-R6 failed. Still, Gaige led the entire race up the last turn on the last lap while having to deal with limited steering the entire time. He crossed the line second to earn himself a weekend without finishing off the podium. Sam Gaige “I can’t believe I didn’t come away with a win in the SportBike race after all that work! I was holding on to the damper itself, riding most of the race one-handed. Twice I lost hold of it where it got caught between the frame and the forks and on the second time it cost me the win. I can’t believe I didn’t run off during the race – I saved that for the cool down lap. The other races were a blast though. I had a lot of fun starting from the back of the grid in the GTU and Middleweight SuperSport classes where I think I had to pass at least two guys a lap to get on the podium. And I was passing people in spots I shouldn’t have been just to get up there! I just ran out of time with the laps ticking down like they did. Overall, I had a great weekend and I’d like to offer my thanks to Mark Rozema and everyone else who helped out in the pits. The heat was staggering and those people made life a lot easier for me.” Having just missed out on a win in his last race at Summit Point, Sam Gaige and Team RidersDiscount.comlook forward to WERA’s Pirelli Sportsman Series at BeaverRun Motorsports Park 18-19 June. Being that it’s a combined North Central and Northeast region event, the undulating circuit will provide a new challenge for the team’s first event there for 2011. About RidersDiscount.com: RidersDiscount.com is a retailer of quality powersports gear, apparel and accessories. A company formed and owned by motorcycle racers, RidersDiscount.com ships equipment for every riding style to customers worldwide, backed by a knowledgeable sales team and excellent customer service.